Topic: Hurricane Katrina

Drawing the Mood of New Orleans
‘Cartoon ideas presented themselves, but none embraced the gravity of the situation.’
By Steve Kelley

The Press and the Presidency: Silencing the Watchdog
‘President Bush was obsessed from the beginning of his administration with what he regarded as unjustified intrusions by the press.’
By Murrey Marder

A Forceful Voice About a City’s Survival
With the ‘transformative power of anger, I was converted into a full-time columnist who took on the serious work of defending a city.’
By Jarvis DeBerry

A Steadfast Editorial Voice
‘… anything that does not have a practical application appears pompous in print in the aftermath of genuine disaster and tragedy.’
By Tony Biffle

Bypassing the Easy Stories in the Big Easy
An editor and author urges out-of-town journalists to park their preconceptions at the city’s edge and be prepared to do some digging to find the news.
By Jed Horne

Survival First, Then Needed Newsroom Adjustments
‘All of the silos were leveled, and the Sun Herald newsroom became a blended team with an intense Katrina focus.’
By Stan Tiner

Impossible to Ignore: A Mental Health Crisis Changes a Community and a Reporter’s Focus
‘Only after several months of covering these issues am I beginning to understand the scope and dimensions of the crisis.’
By Joshua Norman

Investigating What Went Wrong and Why
‘As it turns out, many of the systemic failures that plagued the Gulf Coast during and after Katrina should have been predicted ….’
By Jenni Bergal

Observing Everything to Tell the Story of Change
‘I found the timeline of the city’s renaissance in mundane details and in revealing what daily rituals were still altered.’
By Rukmini Callimachi

Personal Circumstances Intersect With Professional Obligations
‘We have become tougher, more aggressive, more skeptical reporters due, at least in part, to the fact that we have a rooting interest in the outcome.’
By John Pope

The Changing Roles and Responses of Reporters
‘… objectivity is a newsroom issue we’ve tackled head-on since the first few days after Katrina hit.’
By Kate Magandy

‘It Looks Like the Third World’
Writing in Southeast Asia, an American journalist comments on reporters’ use of this descriptive phrase in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
By Philip J. Cunningham

Words Triumph Over Images
‘The human element was accentuated, and the best of the writing was impressionistic.’
By Curtis Wilkie

Rumors, Race and Class Collide
‘Class and race are inextricably bound up in New Orleans, and trying to make sense of it was as hard as trying to get accurate information.’
By Kevin Cullen

Questions for Journalists to Ponder in the Aftermath of Katrina
‘The first step is admitting that you don’t know what you don’t know.’
By Mary C. Curtis

Katrina Fatigue: Listeners Say They’ve Heard Enough
‘What we hear is not that it’s time to stop our coverage of Katrina’s aftermath: We hear that we need to do it better.’
By Susan Feeney

Keeping Katrina’s Aftermath Alive
‘Anyone who visits New Orleans knows the story is far from over.’
By John Burnett

A Tragedy Illuminates the Ethical Dimensions of Picture Taking
An Essay in Words and Photographs
By Ted Jackson

Journalism Driven By Passion
‘… we’re totally comfortable with the view that New Orleans should survive. As a newspaper, we’re clear on that position.’
By James O’Byrne, Mark Schleifstein & Susan Feeney

Telling a Tough Story in Your Own Backyard
An Essay in Words and Photographs
By Bill Haber

Reminding Readers of What Is No Longer There
An Essay in Words and Photographs
By John Fitzhugh

The Friends of The Times-Picayune Relief Fund
By Susan Feeney

On-the-Ground Reporting: Why It Matters
‘… sometimes editors — and not just reporters — need to walk in the steps of the people they cover.’
By Liz Szabo

The Messengers of Mississippi in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
In small, forgotten towns of the Gulf Coast, a reporter tells the stories she heard amid the hurricane’s devastation.
By Elizabeth Mehren

Seeing Is Believing
‘There was so much destruction that I couldn’t put down my camera.’
By Nuri Vallbona

Witness to the Tragedy
A veteran photojournalist observes that ‘… even during war the deceased are treated with some respect ….’
By Carolyn Cole

New Orleans’ Lower Nine Fades, Fades, Fades Away
‘Our neighborhood should’ve gotten more media attention well before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.’
By Will Sutton

The Long Road to a Wide Bend
The Times-Picayune’s ‘focus has gradually shifted away from how the city will be rebuilt to how it is — now, in the present tense.’
By Gordon Russell

Images Evoke Memories and Emotions
An Essay in Words and Photographs
By Alex Brandon